


Wake Up Call

by Debi_C



Series: Daniel's Office [12]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-05
Updated: 2012-07-05
Packaged: 2017-11-09 06:35:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/452413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is awakened by his concern for Daniel and contemplates his companion's return</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wake Up Call

I wake up in my house. It's dark and quiet as always. If I listen carefully I can hear the fish tank. But that's not what I listen to...I can 'hear' Daniel. My spidy-sense is in full roar. 

He's alone and he's frightened...the dream has returned. He can't tell me what he dreams, just that he does dream and screams himself awake. 

He's in the Mountain, in his assigned quarters, alone, in the dark. 

I know he needs me. I know I will go. The alarm clock shows 0412 hours. It's not set to go off for another hour and a half but I know I can't sleep anymore. So, I shower, shave and dress for work. On the way in I stop at a Starbucks and pick up two cups of coffee and two pastries. The Apple thingies look good. I get two of them also. 

I park the truck and go through security. But instead of going to my office I go to his room and knock once. It's 0500 hours. He opens the door within moments. I knew right away I'd been right, he'd had another nightmare. His face is flushed, his eyes red, hair all over the place and he's wearing a robe and nothing else. I smile and say 'hey'. 

"Hey. Come in. What are you doing here at this hour?" He sounds nonchalant, but he's eyeing the bag like a starving man. The odor of fresh coffee makes him lick his lips and sniff. He's beautiful and hasn't a clue. 

"I work here, remember." I grin and walk past him to settle at his dinette table. I pull the lids off the coffee cups and tear the bag open revealing the apple thingies. As he sits down across from me his need for the food, and me, is palpable. I look carefully into the bloodshot blue eyes that I love and ask. "Did you have a rough night? You look like shit." 

He rubs his eyes, conscious of his appearance. "I'm fine." He lies badly and tries to smile at me. 

"Yeah, tell me another one. You had a screamer, didn't you?" I ask softly. 

"It was just a dream. I'm fine." He tries another fib, failing miserably. Denial is not just a river in Egypt. 

"Daniel," I'm concerned about him. I clear my throat, and make a suggestion. "Look," I say, "We've known each other a long time...you may not remember everything, but I do." I reach out and lay my hand on his. "Why don't you come and spend the weekend at my place. At least there I can wake you up out of these nightmares. Here..." I wave my hand at the lonely cold room. "Here you have to wake yourself up." 

"Jack, there's nothing..." 

"Okay, it's settled." I declare before he can continue. "I'll pick you up on my way home tonight." After a second, he nods. I happily smile and finish my turnover. When we've both finished off our breakfast, Daniel tells me he's got some translating to do for Lou and we agree that I'll pick him up this evening. 

My day goes as scheduled. I finish my reports, go to a staff meeting and then have a short one on one meeting with General Hammond. Since the SGC has grown so large, my work has become as much supervisory as field assignments. It's not what I would have chosen but the work comes with the job. There are always new personnel arriving due to attrition. And the cadet program that Carter more or less started with the mighty mite, Haley is now in full swing. That was a mistake...I think of her, I think of Elliot, then I think of Daniel. Somehow everything reminds me of Daniel. 

I wonder what he is doing, how his day has gone and is he thinking of me...or is he off on some archaeological, linguistical, magical mystery tour. Some times I wish I could just get into his head and wander around in there. What would I find? The answer to the meaning of life and stuff? I wouldn't be surprised...though I think he occasionally surprises himself. 

I come to and realize I'm sitting at my desk like a goofball with this really stupid grin on my face...and it's all because of Danny. My Danny, my love, my life, my soul. 

I know that when he was gone, people were a little concerned for me. George once asked me over to play checkers...checkers for God's sake. He must have been worried. 

It wasn't like I didn't have things to do, ya know. The little side trip to Antartica, then the Tok'ra fiasco. Ya gotta love those Tok'ra, not! Course I did get to see Danny, thanks to Ball and his game of what if. Then the NID stealing our space ship. Well, hell, Jim Kirk would have been pissed too. 

It was a busy year, a stressful year, the second worst year of my life. And that was only because it was 'just' a year. Carter was in almost as bad a shape as me. She wandered around all red nosed and teary eyed. But that's just Carter. She couldn't understand me, or didn't want to. I really don't know which. I don't think she blamed me for his going...I think she resented the fact that I wasn't mourning...properly. Whatever the hell that means. 

Teal'c came closer to understanding me. He didn't push, he didn't want emotions, and he didn't want to pull the hard scab off the bloody wound. He knew because he'd had experiences in losing men too. Yeah, like he had been just a man on my team. Daniel had never been just anything. 

As I look back at myself then, I realize that I was doing the same thing to my team that I had done to Sara. I was locking myself away in that little place inside my soul, barricading myself away from feeling and hurting. Trying to anyways. But I knew that if I let it all loose, someone else would die...and it would probably be me...if I was lucky. But if I had let anyone else in, it might have included them. 

Daniel has asked me about what happened to him. But I can't tell him yet. Maybe never. There's too much I'm ashamed of, too much guilt, too much fault...and it's all mine. Me, myself, I. 

We'd been having problems, issues I'd guess you'd say. Our firm foundation had been crumbling away slowly but surely for over a year. The situation on Euronda when we argued, the imaginary team mate Tyler who zatted him with the zat I gave him, that damned ass Burrock unas-napping Chaka, losing the Tollan, almost losing Carter, him running back into Sarah slash Osiris and then the big honking nasty fight over the robot chick Reese. For a few days, I thought we'd finally crossed over that infamous fine line between love and hate. 

We still hadn't patched things up when we went to Kelowna... when all of fucking hell broke loose. We'd met the people, made nice with the politicians and we were being given the fifty-cent tour. Then this Jonas character tells us about this new stuff, naquadria that they'd been working with. Well, Carter gets all excited but she's already slated to go with another scientist. Danny's bored and still avoiding me, so he says he'll go. Okay, fine. Go play nice with the bureaucrat, we'll be back in an hour then we can go home. 

Even now...I can barely stand to remember it. All of a sudden, he'd done it again, saved the world, but at the same time, he's poisoned himself with radiation. Suddenly, my best friend and lover was dying...and there wasn't jack-shit anyone could do...not Fraiser, not Warner, not me, not Carter, not even Tok'ra Dad. 

And not a nice clean shot by a staff blast death but an ugly, bloody, horribly painful one. And the God damned sorry Kelowna Government was trying to blame Daniel. The same man who saved their stinking fucking planet. Well, I shoved that crap back down their throats, but I couldn't save my Danny, just like I couldn't save my Charlie. And it was my carelessness and inattention that had done it to him too. 

"Can I play with the gun, Dad?" 

"Can I play with the scientists, Jack?" 

Sure, Daniel, make yourself scarce, while I pout a little longer about Reese. 

Do you get it now, my love? Do you see why I am ashamed? Why I can't tell you what I've done for fear it will drive you away again. My carelessness killed you. 

And when you asked me to let you go, I knew I had no right to keep you...no right to inflict any more suffering on your dying body...so I let you go with her. And I could only hope and pray I'd done right by you. 

And even after I had failed you, you still helped me...and you helped Teal'c and you tried to help Abydos. Hell, I even fucked that up for you. I told you to do something...I made you act against Oma. And once again you paid the price for my stupidity. 

But now, you're back. I don't know why or how or if it even matters. Glowy Oma made a big mistake and let you get away. You were too good for them, Danny. I bet you scared hell out of 'em, just like you do me. You were too good for them, and they let you go cause they couldn't control you anymore than I ever could. 

But you know what? It's their loss, buddy. It's their mistake if they're too dimwitted to know what they had. Well, Mama O'Neill didn't raise a complete idiot. I let you go twice, once to Sha'uri and once to Oma Desala...but no more. Danny, you're ours, the SGCs and mine. And nobody's gonna ever take you away again. Cause if they try, I'll come after you...through wind, rain, sleet, fire, water, ice, brimstone, and the coldness of space...just like a God damned mailman. 

I shake myself loose from my woolgathering. It's 1700 hours, quitting time on good ole mother Earth. I stack my papers in neat little piles, shut down the computer, turn out the lights, close my office door behind me and head to Daniel's office. 

There's my love, my miracle on two long legs. He's still bent over those little dildo looking things that Lou and his boys brought back from somewhere. He's bent over the desk, hair all mussed, glasses slid down his nose and the very tip of his very talented tongue is sticking out of his delicious mouth. I slide into the office kinda quiet and work my way up behind him. He hears me, so he's not worried, he knows it's just old Jack. 

I place my hands on his tight, stiff shoulders and rub them firmly. He leans his head back against my chest. "Hey," he says. 

I can only say 'hey' back and knead the hard muscles. For some reason they get all pissy when I disable the security cameras. Damn the luck. "Are you ready to go?" 

"Yes, I do need a break." He admits. "I've almost got this but I think it'll be clearer on Monday morning." 

"C'mon then. O'Malley's for a steak and a beer, then my place for the game." 

He smiles that dazzling smile at me and I turn into goo. "Sounds good, shall I pack a bag?" 

"Yeah, the game's not over till late. You can crash at my place for the weekend." It's our regular script. No one really cares, but you never know who'll see the tape in the future. 

As we head towards the door, we pass out of camera range. I plant a kiss on him, and he returns it with interest. "No bad dreams tonight, Jack." He says, looking into my eyes. 

"No my love, only good dreams" I whisper a reply. For he is the dreamer. He shows me the way. Me, I'm only the sidekick. It is my chosen fate...to follow him through the Stargate, or through the pearly gates or anywhere else. It really doesn't matter to me.


End file.
